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Find files without embedded covers

Uses: Filter and %_covers%. Works on: Loaded audio entries with cover information in the installed app. Time: About 5 minutes for a small copied album. Undo: Filtering writes nothing; clearing it restores the view.

The problem

The cover window shows artwork, but you need to know which tracks actually carry an embedded image. A folder.jpg fallback can make a track look illustrated even when its embedded-cover count is zero. Use copied files before following the results with an import or removal operation.

This practice snapshot separates the count from the external image:

ID ALBUM _COVERS Folder image available
A Harbour Lights 0 Yes
B Harbour Lights 1 No
C Harbour Lights 2 Yes
D Harbour Sessions 0 No

The solution

  1. Load the copied album and wait for its entries to finish loading. Resolve any file-read errors instead of treating a failed read as proof of no art.
  2. Show the Filter using View → Show filter or F3.
  3. Enter:
"%_covers%" EQUAL 0
  1. Wait for automatic application, or press Enter if Auto-apply filter is disabled in the helper menu. A and D match the table above. A still matches when OpenTag can display its folder fallback.
  2. Select one result and inspect the cover window's label. Not embedded in the file explains a folder-image preview; it is not an embedded cover. For mixed selections, inspect individual files or Manage covers….
  3. Clear the filter to restore the list; press Enter in manual mode.

The query does not embed the available folder image. To do that deliberately, use Embed a folder image. Before any batch cover change, choose Edit → Unselect all, then select only the intended visible files. Hidden selected rows remain a separate selection concern.

How it works

%_covers% is a computed information placeholder. In this recipe it counts embedded cover entries, not external images, distinct colors, pixels or front cover roles. The filter evaluates the quoted selector, then EQUAL compares its leading integer with zero.

Scroll the table sideways on a narrow screen to read each complete query.

Query Matching IDs Meaning
"%_covers%" EQUAL 0 A,D No embedded cover entries.
"%_covers%" GREATER 0 B,C At least one embedded cover entry.
"%_covers%" GREATER 1 C More than one embedded entry.
"%_covers%" EQUAL 0 AND ALBUM IS "Harbour Lights" A The missing-cover subset of this album.

A count of two does not prove that one is Front Cover and the other Back Cover, or that their image bytes differ. A nonzero count also does not prove that every embedded image can be decoded or that a receiving player supports its encoding. Conversely, lack of embedded art need not be a mistake: some collections intentionally use only folder images.

Do not use _COVERS MISSING to ask for zero covers. Zero is a supplied count, so a presence query asks a different question. Renaming a metadata field to _COVERS is not a way to embed artwork; information fields are derived from the loaded entry and its actual file measurements.

Variations

  • Use the positive-count query to review files before removing oversized or unwanted artwork. Inspection does not mean all covers should be removed.
  • Add an album/artist constraint to work through one group at a time. Keep boolean grouping explicit when mixing AND and OR.
  • If a folder image should travel with every track, embed a tested copy in supported tag formats. If it should stay external, copy that image along with the audio files instead.

Direct cover-window mutations and cover actions have their own write paths; Manage covers… stages a plan until OK. A filter itself needs no tag undo. After a subsequent recorded edit, inspect Edit → Undo and retain original files/images for recovery beyond the session. Clearing a query does not reverse an import, removal or external extraction.